The pharmaceutical industry requires high-quality packaging that can protect medicines from the environment, ensure their safety and keep them active. Depending on the drug type, there are a number of primary and secondary packaging options.
The need for pharmaceutical packaging to be compliant with regulatory requirements is increasing, particularly as more ailment-specific drugs are developed. Digital printing is an ideal solution but colour consistency must be maintained as variation can cause suspicion of counterfeits or non-compliance issues.
Regulatory Compliance
Regulatory compliance is a critical priority for the pharmaceutical printing packaging industry. It’s imperative to ensure that your drug packaging reflects FDA regulations and provides important information for consumers, while also making your product look attractive on the shelf.
Across the world, governments have a long list of regulations that dictate what information must be displayed on a drug package. These include the purpose of the medicine, storage requirements, warnings and side effects.
A pharmaceutical company could get sued if it fails to comply with any of these regulations. That’s why it’s essential to ensure that you’re packaging and labeling clearly displays all required information, including the Drug Facts.
This information helps ensure the safety of consumers and keeps them informed about their medicines, while also ensuring the safety of the manufacturing process. The FDA requires that Drug Facts be printed clearly and legibly, and that they be in a language that is easy to understand.
Safety
In a world where product piracy is a growing concern, pharmaceutical printing packaging must be as safe as possible to prevent counterfeit medications from entering the supply chain. It is therefore essential to implement clear communication, regulation compliance and smart solutions when packing potent medication.
Despite strict storage guidelines and medication labelling, errors can occur. Dangerous storage conditions, medication tampering and falsified medicines could all jeopardise the health of patients.
This is why, in the European Union for example, the Falsified Medicines Directive 2011/62/EU requires all prescription medication to have a unique serial number on their package that enables them to be traced. This allows the authorities to detect a falsified medication and prevent its sale on the market.
In addition, pharmaceutical products must be leak tested to verify their integrity without damaging them during the process. A range of testing methods can be used, such as HGA, VDM-PDM or AVI tests. These tests examine different aspects of a product's integrity and can be combined in special machines.
Product Differentiation
In pharmaceutical printing packaging, product differentiation is an essential element to ensure a product stands out from the competition. This can be achieved through a range of techniques, including colour, graphics, shape, and unique messaging.
The packaging of pharma products requires constant innovation and advancement, due to increasing demand for improved and specialized packaging solutions that deliver on safety, quality, tamper evidence, and patient comfort. These innovations are primarily driven by regulatory requirements, market trends, and consumer demands.
Product markings in a packaging system can help ensure that drug products are delivered as intended and provide a layer of protection against counterfeiting. This is especially true in high-value, branded pharmaceuticals such as tablets, capsules, and syrups. Manufacturers can choose from a variety of identification technology options, including debossing, traditional and continuous printing, and ultraviolet laser marking. These options can be used to mark trademarks, product names, dose strength, and product manufacturer details. They can also be used to create machine-readable codes, which are helpful for ant counterfeiting measures.
Sustainability
The pharmaceutical industry is constantly faced with the challenges of ensuring product safety, efficacy, and patient adherence. Packaging is often a key factor in these efforts, as it plays a crucial role in preventing contamination and administering medication through sprays and blister packs.
Sustainability is an essential consideration for pharma brands, as it can help them meet regulatory compliance and safety requirements without compromising on their core values. It also helps ensure that their products are being sourced sustainably and are not negatively impacting the environment or animal habitats throughout the packaging lifecycle.
It is important for pharma companies to consider their packaging as part of a broader strategy and work with their printing and packaging partners to develop a solution that is both sustainable and effective. This includes reducing the amount of waste in the process and making sure that raw materials are sourced from renewable resources, as well as shortening supply chains to reduce the distance shipments travel.
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